A Trip You Will Always Remember
What was a trip that you will always remember? What made it memorable?
From The Journal Circle
When we explored this in the Journal Circle, it was interesting to notice different focuses between positive and negative experiences. And how even with negative trips, the memory of it becomes valuable in its own right.
- A vacation when things didn’t go to plan
- A visit where you were surprised by a detail you weren’t expecting
- A school trip that left an enduring mark
- An unexpected injury
- A different sort of trip altogether
What trip comes to mind for you?
Ways to use this prompt
You might have an intuitive sense of how you want to respond to or play with this question. In which case, go for it. If you’re feeling stuck, try one of the following…
A Journal Practice
If you have a journal practice (or you’d like to start one), use these questions to explore. Set a timer or a word count and write freely within that limitation. If you’re struggling to get started, break the question down and try free association with its different aspects.
A Playful Experiment
Remember that no one is watching. The aim isn’t to produce a finished result. Rather, it’s about giving yourself permission to play with forms and ideas. It’s a playful workout for your creative muscles. Something that, like physical exercise, benefits you across different areas and seasons of life over time.
And as with physical exercise, success is about showing up and consistently going through the motions.
The more freedom we experience in that way, the more open we become to seeing, experimenting, and connecting the dots.
Play Safe
Notice what helps you feel safe and free to play. I know some people who give themselves permission to burn or shred their word afterwards. Its temporality lets perfectionism and any anxiety about others seeing it fall away. You might use particular frames that keep it low-stakes and experimental.
Here are some example starting points. Use them as inspiration to get you going…
Turn it into a map
Draw a map of your trip. Where did it take you (literally and figuratively)? Add emotions, memories, and symbolic items to it. What was the road that brought you there? How did you leave?
Create a found poem
Pull a page from a magazine, newspaper, or leaflet, and find phrases and words that relate to your memorable trip. Block out everything else with a pen or tape.
Write your answer like a weather report
Think about the trip’s weather. Actual weather, emotional weather, the weather of your mood (and others). What brought the front in? When did it disappear?
Do a blind-contour drawing
Pick an object that reminds you of the trip. Without looking at or lifting your pencil off the page, draw it. Keep your eyes fixed on the object the whole time. Once you’re done, you can leave it there…or add colours, words, and extra details afterwards to dwell in the experience.
Zoom out
Look at this trip from further away. How has it changed with time? Capture it from a distance.
Leave it there
This question was inspired by our current season’s theme, “Leave it there“.
Is there something you want to leave behind? Do you want to get better at letting things go? Or maybe, the opposite, persisting with important things even when others tell you to drop it. Have you stumbled across something left somewhere, deliberately or accidentally? Do you want to leave nice things for others to discover? Maybe you’d like to get better at spotting and ignoring bait that others want you to react to. Or you want to trust your preparation and know when something is good enough, rather than sabotaging it through overpreparation.
It’s a phrase that offers a wide range of possible interpretations and angles.
We are creating this season’s Coming To Our Senses zine around this theme. It would be great to have you involved in some way, big or small! Send me a message if you’d like to explore what that might look like with me.
Share Your Discoveries
If you would like to share an experiment, creation, musings, questions, or discoveries with us in The Haven, add a post on the Activity Feed. It would be lovely to see what you’ve been up to! No pressure, of course.
